“Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness.”
— Katherine Henson
You wanna know a miracle I’ve overlooked my whole life, until recently? The miracle of keeping a hopeful heart in a hardened world.
Have you ever felt yourself growing cynical or complacent as a response to hurt? Maybe your hopes have been crushed and you don’t want to pick up the shattered pieces… Has it ever felt more painful to hope so you’re tempted to stop all together?
Lately God has placed people in my life who have shared their stories with me and each time I’ve walked away thinking: “if they kept going, so can I.” While hearing their experiences I would think to myself: “After what you walked through I may have quit: on church, on people, on relationships… I would’ve put up walls and hardened my heart.” But, they didn’t, and God is working in their lives in ways they never would’ve seen if they had quit and now their lives are preaching a louder sermon than any pastor could.
I really love how the New Living Translation puts Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart & I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart & give you a tender, responsive heart.” Notice how it’s GOD who gives us a new heart; it’s something we’re incapable of giving ourselves. He must do it. Our hearts are naturally stubborn and hard; He is the One who gives us a soft & responsive heart.
I’ve repeated this prayer a lot lately: “Lord, keep my heart soft. Keep me responsive. Keep me hopeful.”
I love how God often works the opposite of how we may expect… In the world suffering is a reason to give up hope; but Paul tells believers that HOPE is a BYPRODUCT of our suffering in Romans 5:3-4: “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Has hope ever felt futile or pointless? Like you don’t even want to share what you’re hoping for because you feel ashamed? The next verse in Romans 5 says “And HOPE DOES NOT PUT US TO SHAME, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Psalm 25:3 reiterates this point that “no one who hopes in You will ever be put to shame…” Although the world may mock or misunderstand, you will never but put to shame as long as your hope is in Jesus.
If you have (or are) struggling to hope don’t forget that hope requires POWER from the Holy Spirit, it’s not something that always comes naturally. In Romans 15:13, Paul says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Everything in this world will make you hopeless & cynical. But IN CHRIST, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have a hope that remains when all else fails. Our hope is in heaven and nothing on this earth will ever satisfy the hope only heaven can fill.
Sometimes hope can feel as natural as breathing,
other times it can feel like a weight you’re forced to carry
that leaves you struggling for air.
Today, whether hope comes easily for you or it feels like it requires all the effort you have, I pray you’re reminded that our hope is not in vain and it is not an empty expectation. Our faith is in the ONE who will forever be faithful, who will fulfill every promise He’s ever made. When you’re tempted to give up and you feel circumstances choking the hope out of your heart, don’t forget that our Hope has a Name. Christians have the hope that one day we will be face-to-face with Jesus, the One our weary hearts are longing for.
“Be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.”
– Romans 12:12
“while we wait for the blessed hope—
the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,” – Titus 2:13
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for He who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23